87.6% of New Zealanders rejected in a referendum that the scourge given by the father to the son to educate him constitutes a crime, according to the first data of a vote made by 1.6 million people in the country.
The data provided to the media by the Electoral Commission granted 1,420,959 votes to “NO” and 191,495 votes to “YES”, and the participation rate was 54.6%. The question that was asked of the electorate and that he had until today to answer by mail was: "Should the scourge in New Zealand be a crime in New Zealand?"
Anyway, the final result will be announced next Tuesday and is not binding. In Spain, if a similar referendum were held, the results would also give a “no” to the crime as shown by some surveys conducted here.
In my opinion, a cheek is not a crime, if there were few fathers and mothers they would be free from being criminals or abusers, words that point to facts that are too serious to be attributed to those who have occasionally slapped a child on the back or on the back. because he has not understood that sticking his fingers in the plug or running towards the road is dangerous.
The problem is that a cheek can be the beginning of an unhealthy way of educating or simply understanding the parent-child relationship. Setting limits is complicated, and not even pedagogical experts, psychologists and jurists agree to define when there is "pedagogical cheek" and where there is abuse.
For the record, I don't believe in the so-called "pedagogical cheeks," and I think there are other ways to make a child change his misbehavior or reflect on what is right and wrong. And although I hope it won't be like that, I can't say that I will never cheat or slap my daughters. On the other hand, more aggression seems to me other punishments that can psychologically affect the little ones, enclose them, leave them without eating ... well, mistreatment that does not involve physical aggression.
In any case, we must know that the cases that have recently jumped into the media have not been crimes for cheating, but for causing injuries to minors. As the sounded case of Jaén's mother who was sentenced to jail and finally pardoned for the injuries caused by slapping her son. Or Cantabria's father who was convicted of punching his 5-year-old son who had to be admitted to the hospital for injuries.
But the examples are clear to reflect on the limits of abuse, our impulsive behavior and the fragility of children and unexpected and unwanted consequences of those "cheeks." The alternatives sound better ...
